Breaking the shut out

Last year I managed one ride in the first month, 60 km on the road. The year before I accomplished an amazing two rides.

After a great finish to December, with a brisk 60 km road ride on the last day of 2010, it was looking like I’d be riding a donut for January. The weather gods just weren’t smiling my way. We’ve had a lot of wet. So I’ve been doing four km runs a couple of times a week, and I did one mind-numbing session on the trainer, resigned to hoping February will be more bike friendly.

Than, just as hockey goalies fear even thinking about the word shut out will jinx their quest for perfection, the rain stopped, the sun came out, the temperature warmed up.

As the east coast endured this:

Another big snowstorm wallops the east coast.

I was doing this:

What better way to mock their meteorlogical misfortune than go out for a ride.

Sure it was only an evening trail ride out at UBC, but the night air was invigorating. Though my lungs felt a little depleted, my legs felt strong, it was good to be out. We spooked a coyote. The trails were a soupy, sloppy mess, so much so I had to stop at a car wash on the way home to clean the muck from my bike; I wouldn’t want to incur the wrath of my fellow condo dwellers as I lug it through the lobby.

Perfect placid evenings like this are rare in January.

Alas, the forecast for the next few days isn’t very encouraging. It looks like this will be my only ride of the month. It’s a start. And I broke the shut out.

About Mario

Mario Bartel is an avid cyclist and photojournalist. He rarely does both activities at the same time. HIs ride of choice is a Lapierre Xelius road bike, but a good trail ride on his Kona keeps him humble. When he's not riding, he's often hunkered down in front of his computer trying to watch pro cycling races from around the world. He aspires to have the ascending ability of the wiry Spanish climbers and the courage of fearless sprinters.